55Nikki Fowler

Class:Senior

Hometown:Dallas, Texas

High School:Plano West

Height:6-2

Position:OH

Courtside Chat with Nikki Fowler

ROB PATRICK ON FOWLER: "Nikki is really an incredible player. She does everything for us, passing, attacking and defending, and has for her entire career here. She has had a huge impact on our program since stepping on campus three years ago and is a difference-maker on the court in every match we play. Her experience with the U.S. Women's National A2 Team this summer has only increased her confidence and abilities and we really expect some great things out of her this season."

2009 (JUNIOR): Earned All-SEC First Team and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American honors for the second straight season...Was also tabbed to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team and SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll for her work in the classroom...Spent her summer training and playing with the U.S. Women's National A2 Blue Team...Won a gold medal with the squad in the Open Division at the USA Volleyball Open National Championships in Phoenix, Ariz...Ranks 12th on the Lady Vols' all-time career kills list (1,256), second in attacks per set (9.91), sixth in kills per set (3.57), seventh in digs per set (2.72) and sixth in total attacks (3,488)...At the 2010 Volscars, she earned a nomination for "Miss Tennessee," given to the student-athlete who exemplifies the spirit of Tennessee, based on academics, athletics, team leadership and service...Finished the season with 16 consecutive double-doubles and had a team-high 19 on the year and 37 in her three years at Rocky Top...Became the first player in league history to win three consecutive SEC Offensive Player of the Week awards (Nov. 9, Nov. 16 and Nov. 23) and was also the first player to ever win the award four times in a single season, having picked up the accolades on Sept. 28 as well...Has won the award seven times in the past two seasons, tying her with Florida's Aury Cruz for the most in SEC history...Led UT in kills in 22 of 32 matches and paced the team in both blocks and digs on six occasions each...Was named the MVP of the 2009 Comcast Lady Vol Classic after leading UT to three victories and the tournament title...Posted 41 kills, 38 digs, 10 blocks and four aces over the course of the two-day competition...Led UT in kills in all three matches with 11 against Tennessee Tech and 15 versus both Western Kentucky and Lipscomb...Also had a career-high 25 digs against the Hilltoppers to earn her first double-double of the season and 19th of her career...Picked up all-tournament team honors at the Xavier Invitational, held in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 4-6...Led UT with seven kills and had 14 digs in a 3-1 loss to No. 7 Michigan...Followed that up with 14 kills and eight digs in a 3-0 victory over Notre Dame and an eight-kill, seven-dig, three-ace, three-block performance in a sweep of Xavier the next day...Reached double-digits in kills in all three of UT's matches at the Carolina Classic with 13 against both the host Tar Heels and Marshall and 10 versus Colorado State...Also had nine digs in all three contests...Opened SEC play with an 18-dig, seven-kill, five-block performance at LSU on Sept. 18....Added 13 kills and nine digs versus Arkansas one week later...Hit .333 (14-4-30) and had 15 digs for her 20th career double-double in UT's 3-0 sweep of Ole Miss on ESPNU on Sept. 27...Accomplished the feat once again three days later with a season-high 21 kills and 13 digs in UT's five-set triumph over Louisville...Had nine kills and 18 digs in a four-frame triumph at South Carolina on Oct. 2 and led the Lady Vols in both kills and digs at No. 5 Florida two days later with nine and eight, respectively...After collecting eight kills, five digs, three blocks and an ace in a 3-0 victory over Georgia on Oct. 9, Fowler followed that up with her 22nd career double against Auburn two days later with 10 kills and 10 digs to go along with three more blocks and another ace...Added two more double-doubles the following weekend at Alabama and Mississippi State...Tallied 14 kills, 15 digs, six blocks, a pair of aces and an assist in a 3-1 triumph over the Crimson Tide before posting a 16-kill, 10-dig effort versus the Bulldogs...Was unstoppable in UT's four-set victory at No. 7 Kentucky on Oct. 21, pounding out 20 kills on a season-high 56 swings, including 10 in the final set alone...Made it four consecutive double-doubles with 17 digs to go along with four blocks, two assists and an ace...Registered her fifth straight match with double digits in two categories, tallying match highs with 19 kills and 22 assists in a 3-1 loss to No. 20 LSU on Oct. 26....Made it seven consecutive double-doubles with 12 kills and 11 digs at Ole Miss on Oct. 30 and a season-high 24 putaways to go along with 10 digs, six blocks and two assists in a 3-2 road triumph over Arkansas on Nov. 1...Increased her streak to nine straight matches with a double-double in 3-0 victories against Mississippi State and Alabama with 10 kills and 16 digs versus the Bulldogs and 16 kills and 16 digs against the Crimson Tide...The effort against Alabama marked her 30th career double-double...Made it 10 in a row with 22 kills and 15 digs in a 3-2 loss at Auburn on Nov. 13...Turned in another machine-like performance at Georgia later that weekend, recording a career-high 29 kills and tying her personal-best with eight blocks...Also had 13 digs for her 11th straight double-double...Became the first player in league history to win three straight SEC Player of the Week awards following a 19-kill, 16-dig performance in a 3-1 victory over No. 13 Florida and 16 kills, 10 digs and three blocks versus South Carolina, Nov. 20 and 22, respectively...Guided UT to a thrilling, five-set win against No. 10 Kentucky in the regular-season finale with 17 kills, 12 digs and four putbacks...Opened NCAA Tournament play with 17 more kills against Duke, in addition to 12 digs and seven blocks...Finished off her junior campaign with a team-high 11 hammers, two aces, 13 digs and a block in a second-round loss to 11th-ranked Minnesota.

2008 (SOPHOMORE): Only unanimous All- SEC First Team selection...Earned honorable mention All-America honors from both the American Volleyball Coaches Association and CVU.com...Was also named to the AVCA All-South Region accolades...Continued to improve after earning SEC Freshman of the Year honors in 2007...Was the only Lady Vol to start all 32 of the team's matches...Sat out just one set all season...Paced UT in kills in 22 of its 32 matches...Led the team with 427 kills, 3.62 kills per set and 1,139 attacks in 2008...Also ranked second with 24 aces, third with 278 digs and fourth with 77 blocks... Earned Most Valuable Player accolades at the Marquette Kickoff Tournament after posting 41 kills, 19 digs and 11 blocks in the three-match competition...Led UT with 13 kills against both Chattanooga and Houston and 15 putaways at Marquette... Struggled a bit at the Denver Pioneer Classic the next weekend, but was still able to record 10 kills against Iowa and 13 digs versus Denver...Stepped up her play once again at the Comcast Lady Vol Classic, taking home all-tournament team honors after leading Tennessee to a 2-1 record at the competition...Had a terrific all-around contest against No. 17 Illinois on Sept. 12, with 18 kills, a career-high 19 digs and three blocks...Led UT to a five-set victory over Dayton two days later with a then season-best 22 kills on 63 swings, in addition to 13 digs and three blocks...The double-doubles against the Fighting Illini and the Flyers were her first and second of the season and 12th and 13th of her career...Continued her solid play in the opening weekend of SEC action, collecting 10 putaways against Mississippi State before posting her third double-double of the year with 11 kills and a career-high 20 digs against Alabama on Sept. 21...Added her team-high fourth double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs at Georgia, following a 19-kill, seven-dig performance at LSU...Recorded yet another double-double versus Kentucky on Oct. 1 with 19 kills and 17 digs...Followed that up with a nine kill, eight dig performance against Auburn two days later...Led UT to a four-set victory over Louisville on Oct. 8 with 21 kills, eight digs and three blocks... Continued to shoulder the offensive load for UT with the team-high total in kills at both South Carolina and No. 9 Florida, smashing out eight against the Gamecocks and 13 versus the Gators...Hit at a .300 clip (13-4- 30) in the contest against UF...Helped the Lady Vols to a 3-0 sweep over ETSU on Oct. 14 with 10 kills on 20 swings with just three errors for a .350 hitting percentage...Tallied her most efficient offensive performance of the season against Ole Miss on Oct. 17, hitting at career-best .480 clip with 14 kills and just two errors on 25 attacks...Also added four digs and three blocks in UT's 3-0 sweep over the Rebels...Just two days later, she pounded out 20 kills on 46 swings and had 11 digs for her team-high sixth double-double of the season in a 3-1 victory over Arkansas...Posted a nine-kill, six-dig, two-block, two-ace, two-assist effort in UT's 3-0 sweep at Mississippi State on Oct. 26...Hit at a .348 clip in that contest with just one error on 23 swings...Tallied a match-high 15 kills, to go along with nine digs, four blocks and an ace, in a 3-0 sweep over LSU on Oct. 31...Led UT to a pair of key road wins over Arkansas and Ole Miss with 13 kills, six digs and four blocks against the Razorbacks and 10 kills, eight digs and two blocks versus the Rebels...Had 15 digs versus No. 12 Florida just two days before tying her season-high with 22 kills in a five-set thriller over South Carolina...Topped UT with 16 kills in a road win over Auburn on Nov. 23... Also had nine digs, four blocks and two aces, while hitting at a .333 clip (16-6-30)... Powered UT to a five-set upset over No. 17 Kentucky on Nov. 28 with a season-high 24 kills on 62 swings...Finished the season with a bang, leading the Lady Vols with 19 kills at Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament...Also had 13 digs, two aces and a block in that contest...Earned a nod to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll as well for her efforts in the classroom.

2007 (FRESHMAN): Posted one of the most spectacular rookie campaigns in Tennessee volleyball history, culminating in 2007 SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC All- Freshman Team honors...Was one of only three players to start all 29 matches for the Lady Vols...Put forth a strong showing in her collegiate debut at the AVCA Showcase in Omaha, Neb....Was especially impressive in UT's 3-2 win over No. 21 Utah, recording 10 kills in 36 attacks, nine assists, seven digs, seven blocks and a pair of aces...Continued her steady play at the Comcast Lady Vol Classic, where she knocked out seven kills versus Belmont and eight against Indiana... Set three career highs against the Hoosiers with a .263 hitting percentage (8-3-19), 11 digs and a pair of solo blocks...Tied that digs mark in the team's next contest against Creighton at the State Farm Illini Classic on Sept. 7...Posted one of the best offensive performances of her young career the following day, with 17 kills in 42 swings and three aces versus Marquette...Registered the first two double-doubles of her career in the opening weekend of SEC play with 17 kills and 11 digs in a loss to Alabama and 13 kills and 10 digs in UT's 3-1 victory over Mississippi State...Accomplished the feat in back-to-back matches at Kentucky and against Arkansas...Had 12 kills and a then career- high 15 digs versus the Wildcats before setting personal bests with 22 kills, 49 attacks, a .327 hitting percentage and three aces at home against the Lady'Backs... After smashing out a team-high 14 kills at South Carolina on Oct. 5, Fowler saw a streak of eight straight matches with double-digit kill totals come to an end two days later at then-No. 6 Florida...Also had a career-high four aces against the Gamecocks...Fowler immediately got back on track, leading UT to a five-game victory over No. 18 LSU with 20 kills on a then-career-high 51 attacks... Also had 12 digs to notch her fifth double-double... Recorded her sixth two days later with 14 kills and 10 digs against Ole Miss... Tallied dig totals of 11 and 14 at Louisville and Mississippi State, respectively, before recording her seventh double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs versus Alabama on Oct. 21...Put together the most complete match in school history with the first triple-double ever by a Tennessee player at Ole Miss on Nov. 2...Had 19 kills to go along with career-best totals of 19 assists and 18 digs...Added the setter position to her resume in that match as she played as part of a 6-2 rotation... Finished just two blocks off what would have been the first quadruple-double in the nation in 2007 with eight putbacks in the contest as well...Was the lone Lady Vol with double digits in kills against No. 8 Florida with 10...Pounded out a career-high 28 kills against South Carolina on Nov. 11 while hitting at a personal-best .377 clip with just two errors in a career-high 69 swings... Finished the SEC season strong with 17 kills and 12 digs versus Kentucky and 22 kills, 15 digs and five blocks at Arkansas...Closed out 2007 with her 12th double-double of the season against Notre Dame on Nov. 23 with 16 kills and 11 assists...Fowler's excellence extended to the classroom where she earned mention on the SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll.

HIGH SCHOOL: Was the Most Valuable Player for the Dallas Skyline Jrs. 17- Roshambo club team in 2006...Was ranked as the 14th-best recruit in the nation on the PrepVolleyball.com Top 100 Senior Aces List and was named one of the Top- 50 junior recruits by Volleyball Magazine... Rated as the top prep player in Texas by LoneStarVolleyball.com...In 2006, Fowler led her high school team to a 36-3 record and the Region II Championship match...She earned All-Texas Second Team honors in each of the last two seasons, as well as first team all-district and Plano West Offensive MVP accolades in 2005...Playing for the top-ranked 17's club team in Texas, Fowler helped her squad to a 17th-place finish in the Open Division of the 2006 Junior Olympics after it claimed the championship at the Lone Star National Qualifier...In 2005, she earned a spot on the all-tournament team at the Junior Olympics after her 16's team finished third in the National Division.

PERSONAL: Pursuing a degree in marketing with a collateral in international business...Names Dallas Maverick forward Dirk Nowitzki as her biggest sports influence...Lists her favorite hobbies as wakeboarding, listening to country music, being outdoors, white water rafting and go-carting...Former teammates playing volleyball collegiately include Erika Clark (Georgia) and Angela Bensend (LSU)... Chose Tennessee over Florida, Notre Dame and Minnesota...Nicole Alyssa Fowler, the daughter of Marc and Regina Fowler, was born on May 11, 1989, in Dallas, Texas.